Those rushing statistics for Hamilton are hard to believe and even harder to watch.  From where I am sitting, they need more balance...and to run the ball, they need more blockers at the point of attack (fullback, wingback in motion, etc) Once the run starts working, the passing game will improve a lot. I was at Williamstown, and that game was very winnable for Hamilton thanks to the defense. Offensive woes continue to derail their efforts.  Two more games to see if they can pull it together. 

Watched the Ham/Colby game...and what can a person say.  A team can rarely overcome 6 turnovers. Plus not scoring when it's get 1st and goal from the 2, missed opportunity after opportunity...it's heart-wrenching if you are a fan and parent. I feel most for QB Jordan Eck, who must feel absolutely sick today.  He's trying to do too much, which results in him forcing things, and that rarely has a good outcome. Please, team, stay behind this young man and continue to show your confidence in him - he has the skills, but just needs to learn to play within himself and trust those around him.  The O-line lost a starter last week, and folks often overlook how much that can throw an offense off.

The Defense played darn well. If you hold a team to 13, you usually win. However, a blown coverage on the 1st series gave the Mules 7 points. So everyone needs to share in this loss.

Hats off to Colby for getting their first win of the season. Keep your heads up Conts, you can finish the season strong, but most importantly STAY TOGETHER!

Since the two wins, Hamilton has not had a key starter in the game on offense. Last week it was Eck and this week it was leading rusher Stanell (not sure why he was out).  Stanell should be back next week, and Eck should be getting better and more agile each week.  When those two are in, they have a lot more balanced offense.  They defense played well, except for a couple of big plays.

Hamilton really lacks depth, and this single thing needs to be the focus of this coming off-season. They need to get the roster up to 75 players.   

Thanks banfan! I'm quickly checking in from the Hampton Inn in East Hartford. I love wireless! My wife and I will look for ya'll (I was born in Texas). I'm a big, friendly lug, and promise not to eat too much.

I must agree with NESCAC Insider that Hamilton's offense needs to FINISH the game. No doubt today's game is tough for the Conts, but the only way to improve is to play better opponents.  Take care.   

Banfan, I don't know honestly, but Wes seemed to not want to put too much on the QB's shoulders. Did a little deep-dive analysis as I re-watched the game yesterday, and Wes' run-to-pass ratio averaged about 12 to 1 - not exactly a balanced attack.  When they did pass (or run the bootleg), Hamilton was usually caught off guard, but how can you NOT look for the run?!  The biggest issue for Wes was their kicking game (missed PAT and blocked FG). Hats off to Hamilton's defense for stiffening in the red zone. Their inside LB MacDonald had 21 tackles on the day, the guy is a monster of the midway - very Urlacher-esc.

Anyway, tomorrow is my first AWAY game Tailgate. The home pre-during-after party is awesome! Great food and drink, great group of parents, all run by some folks who haven't had kids playing for years. Stop by!   

There's no doubt that Hamiton is a young team, but they have been playing pretty well. And winning is contagious. I don't know how well they will fare against Trinity. From all I have read and heard, they are the class of the NESCAC, and this is Hamilton's first real test to see if they are a REAL contender in 2011.  So I guess we'll see Saturday. I am hoping for a good game, where both teams slug it out. Even if Trinity wins, I want Hamilton to look like a team that is improving. 

I can say that the Hamilton fans and players are excited about the year, and gaining back some credibility as a football program. It's long overdue. The coaches are doing what it takes to bring in and retain good players. From where I'm sittin', it's all upside.

And, for the record Wesleyan had a pretty darn good running attack. Unfortunately they did not pass hardly at all. When they did, it usually worked, but it was like 8 runs, one pass, 7 runs, one pass...not very balanced and it just ate the clock, which worked against them in the end.

Good luck to all teams this week!

banfan, why do I feel like a kid on a playground being dared to cross the line?  En garde! Seriously, I don't think the Hamilton fan base is quite ready to start talking trash on any online forum. That said, maybe it's coming in a couple of weeks. They have a pretty balanced offense. Their defense can play better, and they need to make big plays that can change game outcomes.  A win over Wesleyan would be sweet. A win over Trinity would be REALLY sweet. To quote little J. P. in Angels in the Outfield, "It could happen."

Just checking in from Hamilton...it was parent's day and a big crowd was on hand for a very exciting game.  I'm not going to go into deep analytical details, but just offer some high-level points as I saw them. I don't want to get too excited at this point in the season. 

The offense and QB Jordan Eck looked very nice and balanced. Eck was superb on the day, and I just read was selected as NESCAC Offensive player of the week. He made nice throws, was very elusive in the pocket, but more importantly made good choices. I am talking about just throwing the ball away if nobody is open. He showed some real maturity. RB James Stanell pounded away the whole game. Big TE Kevin Petrick caught some tough passes in the middle - great hands. Solid effort by the O for sure.

On defense, they had their moments, most notably the last play of the game. Tufts was driving to tie, and maybe win the game. On fourth down, they tried to thread a pass in the middle at the goal line. DB Dylan Iseberg made a heck of a play and knocked the pass down. Game over. The freshman LB Iam Milne was all over the place - what a player he is! In the middle, Jr. LB Mike MacDonald really played tough.  The Hamilton D, looked good, but they can get better, as their young players get more experience.

Special teams performed well also, with the exception of allowing Tufts to get a first down on a muffed punt snap. Punter/Kicker Garret Hoy was excellent all day as he made a 33 yard field goal and rolled one punt down to the five (plus he caught a few passes too).

In summary, it was a great first game for Hamilton to start to build on. A lot of folks in the stands were waiting for Tufts capture the win, as the script usually plays out - but it didn't happen! And the crowd went wild.  This was the first season opening win since 1992. There is a small buzz starting to build about this team that Buff and Blue loyalists have not felt in a while.  It was a great win, and there's a lot of football still to play in 2011.   

So, is there any newspaper or online source who objectively looks as the NESCAC? We can sit here and discuss things all day, but I'd like to see or read what "official" sportswriters have to say?

I was at the Yale JV vs. Hamilton scrimmage two weekend ago. It was a full game scrimmage with refs, kickoffs, punts and everything. The game itself was pretty even, but Hamilton "won", by points scored 30-12. The scoreboard was not lit.  Both offensive units had some good and bad moments.  I was told the Hamilton returning starting TB did not play much at all.  It's not an injury, just the coaches wanted to look at the other RBs. Yes, the 60 yard run by the Freshman QB was great - right up the middle, but it was not a designed QB draw, he just saw an opening and boom!  Special teams play was a little rough, but it's still early.  I really liked how the Hamilton defense played. They flew around and were disruptive, causing four turnovers and scoring a defensive TD (DT Bueneman picked up a fumble and rumbled 10 yards in for the score. Ex-linemen like me loved it). DT C. Waugh is a beast.

I was told by a couple of parents that the competition in the NESCAC is much tougher than Yale's JV team. So, I am not sure how accurate a measuring stick this is regarding how good Hamilton may be. I guess we'll see this Saturday. Let the games begin! 

As a side note, I was also amazed by all the Hamilton fans at the Yale scrimmage. I guess Hamilton player's home towns are closer to Yale than Clinton, NY.

Hey all. Just joining the NESCAC forum. I have a freshman LB at Hamilton. Sounds like from all the posts, and from their record over 12 years, they are just not able to compete in this league.  However, so far, my son loves the coaches and team, we'll see how he feels as the season goes on. It looks like if they can win 3 to 4 games in a season, it would have to be considered "progress" and a moral victory.

Anyway, I'll be chiming in from time to time. Good luck to all the teams.